Christmas floods: dead and tens of thousands displaced in the Philippines

Created: 12/27/2022, 4:10 p.m

By: Patrick Huljina

The Philippines were hit by heavy rains over Christmas.

Almost 45,000 people had to leave their homes.

Gingoog City - Heavy non-monsoon rains have caused severe flooding in the Philippines over Christmas.

At least eight people died in provinces, mainly in the south and east of the Southeast Asian island state, the national civil protection authority announced on Monday (December 26).

Philippines: Dead and thousands displaced after Christmas rainstorms

In total, more than 100,000 people were affected by the rain masses in the Philippines.

Almost 45,000 residents had to leave their homes and were housed in evacuation centers.

In some areas, the water rose "above chest height" on Christmas Day, the most important holiday in the predominantly Catholic country, a civil protection worker told the AFP news agency. 

The rain had started on Christmas Eve.

All major rivers have burst their banks, said Marlon Pajo, a civil protection officer in Gingoog City on the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, nearly 1,000 kilometers from the capital Manila.

According to civil protection, four people died in the province of Misamis Occidental alone, including a 68-year-old woman who suffered a heart attack after being rescued.

Philippines floods: 'Worst rains we've ever had'

Henry Oaminal, the governor of Misamis Occidental province, reported flooded villages, towns and highways on state radio.

The center of the provincial capital Oroquieta was flooded and the power supply was interrupted.

There was also no phone signal.

"We've had floods before, but this is the worst rainfall and flooding we've ever had," Oaminal said.

According to the Coast Guard, a fishing boat went down off the coast of Leyte Island in the center of the country due to strong winds and high waves.

Two crew members lost their lives and six more were rescued.

Authorities said several people in different parts of the country drowned, including a one-year-old girl.

Footage released by the Coast Guard showed responders holding small children as they extricated themselves from homes with waist-deep water.

The Philippine Coast Guard had to extricate children from houses where the water was already waist-deep.

© Handout/Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)/AFP

The Philippines is among the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change.

According to scientists, storms and heavy rain events in the Asian country are increasing in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change.

It was not until the end of October that a tropical storm in the Philippines caused great suffering: more than 100 people died - a total of almost two million were affected.